Stephen Goldblatt, executive creative director and partner at Evolution Bureau joined the agency in 2008. His dynamic experience in creating integrated campaigns for clients including Comcast, HP, Saturn and Netflix is invaluable to the studio’s creative progression into all types of media.
A former group creative director at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Goldblatt created “The Computer is Personal Again” for HP, which won Campaign of the Year from Adweek and Advertising Age. During his eight years at GSP, Goldblatt also co-created “The Slowsky's” for Comcast. His work has received awards from every notable competition and permanently resides in collections at the MoMA New York and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Goldblatt is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and currently lives in San Francisco with his wife, Marly, and their children, Asher and Ruby.
06.01.10
Documenting Life Around Me
If you have a degree in what field is it? A bachelor’s degree in advertising from The University of Texas at Austin.
If you could choose one person to work with (outside your own agency), who would it be? Olafur Eliasson.
Who was the client for your first advertising project? I freelanced at Y&R NY after school and found myself working on a new line of cigarettes from Phillip Morris called Dave’s, that were positioned as locally grown tobacco by an honest, optimistic farmer. The client bought one of the ads I presented. It was a bittersweet experience. I’m just glad that, early on, I got the issue of “I won't work on _______” out of my system.
If you were to change professions, what would you choose to do? I’d probably be a photojournalist. I’d even go as far to say that I’d be a war photographer, if there weren’t so many guns involved.
What do you consider to be the greatest headline of all time? Enlarge your breasts naturally overnight.
From where do your best ideas originate? From not looking directly at the problem. I like to have a few things going on and think about them simultaneously; it allows me to change my train of thought often so I don’t overthink things.
How do you overcome a creative block? I don’t really have a technique for overcoming a creative block. When I know the idea hasn’t been solved, it’s motivation enough to keep digging and looking in a lot of different places for it.
If you could choose any product to create an ad for, what would it be? I would love to do work for American Apparel. The brand stands for something, and their fans are loyal.
Do you have creative outlets other than advertising? I take a lot of pictures. I’m always documenting life around me. I also collect a lot of different things. For me, the act of collecting and organizing satisfies that creative urge.
What’s your approach to balancing work and life? I’ve found that it’s not so much about balancing work and life as much as it’s about blending them. I have a full life. I never stop thinking about my wife and kids while I’m at work and I continue to think about projects while I’m at home. I’m still working on this one, but I suppose it comes down to being present wherever you are.
What product/gadget can you not live without? My Leica M6.
What’s your favorite quote? “A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night and in between does what he wants to.” —Bob Dylan
Do you have any advice for people just entering the profession? Don't limit yourself to the title you are striving for. Be good at more than one thing. With all the changes happening in our industry, the most valuable people out there are the ones who have diverse backgrounds and are capable of many things as opposed to being specialists.
What’s one thing you wish you knew when you started your career? That sometimes the best idea doesn’t win.